Cenote Azul

300 deep 600 feet diameter cenote that is crystal clear and good for diving when the Caribbean is too rough. Because the water is so clear you can easily see quite deep. Rumor has it that it is the largest and supposedly the deepest Cenote in the Yucatan. Its arguably one of the cleanest. To make it a whole day's trip, you can also enjoy Lake Bacalar and see the San Felipe Fort in town. Bacalar is a very Mayan town with little English spoken except at Cenote Azul restaurant. It's a very nice restaurant with good food, but relatively expensive for Mexico. The main appeal of the restaurant is that it sits on the rim of Cenote Azul. Millions of years ago, the peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico, was covered by the ocean. During the Ice Age, the level of the ocean sank, all reefs and marine life that lived over it died, and many of them became marine fossils.In this time rainfall filtered through the ground and flowing slowly towards the ocean it eventually carver out huge Systems of underground caves and tunnels. Once the system were farmed, rainfall would filter through the ground, dragging minerals of the Earth. Dripping down the vaults of the underground caves, this formed stalagtites and stalagmites that in time created amazingly beautiful rock formations. After the Ice Age the water lavel rose again and flooded the cave system with spectacular clear water, leaving them as they are today.The cenote itself is part of a cave ceiling which collapsed creating a natural entrance to the underground Systems. The Mayans called these sinkholes “Dznot“ (sacred well), thus the Spanish Word Cenote.The Dznot was considered to be an Entrance to their mysthical and spiritual underworld, as well as the Orly source of fresh in the jungle.